Cunard is getting ready for the Queen Mary 2 to join the Sail4th meetup of tall ships at New York Harbor on July 4 as part of the United States’ 250th birthday celebration. 

As previously reported, the ship will be part of what is expected to be the largest ever flotilla of tall ships from around the world. 

It will join over 100 vessels sailing from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge. 

After that, the ship will continue sailing on a seven-night cruise honoring the shared maritime history between the U.S. and the U.K. 

The cruise line said the event holds special meaning for it because it marks the anniversary of its first transatlantic crossing.

On July 4, 1840, RMS Britannia set sail from Liverpool to Boston, launching what is considered the world’s first regularly scheduled transatlantic steamship service. Cunard ships have crossed the Atlantic every year since.

The 450th transatlantic crossing aboard the Queen Mary 2 will sail this November, and a sweepstakes to win two places aboard the ship is open until July 31. 

Cunard added that it first sailed into New York Harbor in December 1847 with the wooden paddle steamer the Hibernia.

The line has called at the Port of New York every year since, more than 178 years in total, which it said is longer than any other port in its history.